Therapist details ordeal of Chandler's half brother

By Mike McPhee  The Denver Post

The prosecution in Jon Phillips' first-degree murder trial rested its case Thursday after the last of roughly 35 witnesses: a mental- health therapist who has been treating the younger half brother of Chandler Grafner.

The therapist, Tammie Ellis, gave testimony that normally might be shocking — but in this court case, her testimony merely corroborated what had already been said.

She read from notes of her biweekly sessions with Dominick Phillips, including Nov. 8, 2007, when Dominick explained why Chandler wasn't fed when he was locked in his timeout space in the bottom of a linen closet.

"Sometimes they would forget" to feed him, Dominick said.

She also said Dominick told her that 7-year-old Chandler "puked a little bit" on the living-room couch May 6, 2007, the morning he died from what the coroner ruled was starvation and dehydration. Dominick, who was 5 when Chandler died, said Phillips "put the couch back together," then threw some items into the trash before calling 911. He said Phillips' girlfriend, Sarah Berry, whom the boys called "Mommy," watched television while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

Ellis recounted the innocence of Dominick, who had been locked in a dark closet, forced to take cold showers and punished by withholding food.

"He began asking me if my mommy and daddy did those things to me," Ellis said. "I said, 'No; those things are not OK.' He was extremely surprised. His mouth dropped to the floor. He couldn't believe those things were not OK."

Prosecutors displayed to the jury a number of drawings Dominick made in therapy — some of Chandler locked in a closet and one with squiggles emanating away from Chandler, which he said were Chandler's screams for food and water. Dominick wrote underneath, "Chandler's screams from the bathroom. He tried hard to get someone's attention."

Defense attorneys began their presentations with Alyssa Nemecek, a Jefferson County social services caseworker who took the two boys into custody when their mother was arrested in a drug case in March 2006. She said the best placement for them was with Phillips and Berry, who also is charged with first-degree murder.

Nemecek said that announced visits to Phillips' home had gone fine until Phillips was granted permanent custody on Jan. 11, 2007.

Chandler was first treated for suspected child abuse six days later, when he came to school with a black ear, saying, "My dad clobbered me."

Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com

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